WHAT HAPPENS
Like a lily from its
AFTER DEATH?
IN THIS LESSON YOU WILL STUDY
● After Death—What?
● What Are Heaven And Hell Like?
● How Important Is Your Choice?
● How Can You Go to Heaven?
PA R T 1
AFTER DEATH—WHAT?
The Initial, Temporary Condition
What happens when you die? Your spirit leaves
your physical body. Your body will remain here,
since it was made to be in this world. However,
you will always be fully conscious.
If you have accepted Jesus Christ, you will go
to be with Him at once. But if you have refused
God’s offer of eternal life, you will go away from
Him to the place which is called Hades or Hell.
Hell was prepared for Satan and all those who
follow him.
Luke 16:22, 23. The poor man died
and was carried by the angels . . . to the
feast in heaven. The rich man died . . .
and in Hades . . . was in great pain.
The bodies we now have are not suited to
heaven. They are temporary “houses” that are
given to us for our life on earth. When we die, we
leave them behind. God has prepared a new kind
of body or home for us, one that will fit into His
new creation.
2 Corinthians 5:1. For we know that
when this tent we live in—our body here
on earth—is torn down, God will have a
house in heaven for us to live in, a home
he himself made, which will last forever.
The Resurrection
Jesus is coming back again, possibly very soon,
for those who belong to Him. At that time, those
who have accepted him will be changed. We will
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be given new bodies like His.
bulb, your soul will rise with a new body.
John 11:25. Jesus said to her, “I am the
resurrection and the life. Whoever believes
in me will live, even though he dies.”
1 Corinthians 15:42, 43. When the
body is buried, it is mortal; when raised,
it will be immortal. When buried, it is ugly
and weak; when raised, it will be beautiful
and strong.
Philippians 3:20, 21. We eagerly wait
for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, to
come from heaven. He will change our
weak mortal bodies and make them like
his own glorious body.
Memorize This
1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17. The Lord
himself will come down from heaven.
Those who have died believing in
Christ will rise to life first; then we
who are living at that time will all be
gathered up along with them in the
clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And
so we will always be with the Lord.
The Judgment Seat of Christ
As children of God we will be judged according
to what we have done on earth and why we did
it. Rewards will be given for faithful service.
God will assign us certain responsibilities and
privileges in His eternal Kingdom.
2 Corinthians 5:9, 10. More
than anything else, however, we
want to please him…. For all of
us must appear before Christ,
to be judged by him. Each one
will receive what he deserves,
according to everything he
has done, good or bad, in his
bodily life.
The Millennium
After this first judgment, Jesus will come back
to earth with His followers. The devil will be
imprisoned for a thousand years.
 Jesus will set up His kingdom and rule over all Matthew 25:46. These, then, will
the earth for a thousand wonderful years of peace be sent off to eternal punishment; the
and prosperity. This period of time is called the righteous will go to eternal life.
Millennium. Even the wild animals will live at
peace with one another and with man. For You to Do
Revelation 20:4. They lived and ruled Choose the right word.
as kings with Christ for a thousand years.
● After death the spirit is ........................
Isaiah 11:6. Wolves and (conscious, unconscious).
sheep will live together in peace, ● Those who have not accepted God’s
and leopards will lie down with plan of salvation go to ........................
young goats . . . and little
children will take care of them. (heaven, hell).
● After death, those who have accepted
Isaiah 35:1, 5-6, 9-10. The desert will Christ will live on in ...........................
rejoice, and flowers will bloom
in the wastelands. The blind (heaven, hell).
will be able to see, and the deaf
will hear. The lame will leap and
dance, . . . . Those whom the
Lord has rescued . . . will be PA R T 2
happy forever, forever free from sorrow WHAT ARE HEAVEN
and grief.
AND HELL LIKE?
The Resurrection and Judgment of the Unsaved
One of two places will be your eternal home:
After the Millennium and a final conflict
heaven or hell. The word hell refers both to Hades
between Christ and Satan, the devil will be thrown
and to the lake of fire.
into the lake of fire. Then the dead who did not
accept God’s plan of salvation will come to life HELL HEAVEN
again and be judged. All those who insisted on Separation From God At Home With God
following Satan instead of God will have to go to
Matthew 25:41. Away John 14:2. There
the place of punishment prepared for the devil.
from me, you who are are many rooms in
Revelation 20:11, 12, 15. I under God’s curse! my Father’s house,
saw a great white throne and and I am going to
prepare a place
the one who sits on it. . . . I saw
for you.
the dead, great and small alike,
standing before the throne. Revelation 21:3.
Books were opened, . . . The Now God’s home is
dead were judged according to with mankind! He
what they had done, as recorded will live with them,
in the books. Whoever did not and they shall be his
have his name written in the people.
book of the living was thrown
into the lake of fire.
Everything good comes from God. With Him
The Eternal State are light, life, beauty, and joy. Separated from
The righteous (those who are right with God Him, there are darkness, suffering, sorrow, and
and who are His children) will enjoy forever all death.
that God has prepared for them. Those who have
refused His salvation will be separated forever
from God.

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 HELL HEAVEN
Suffering Perfect Happiness
Forever
Luke 16:23, 24. Revelation 21:10,
In Hades, where he 11, 16, 18. The Holy
was in great pain, City . . . shining with
. . . he called out, the glory of God . . .
“. . . I am in great was fifteen hundred
pain in this fire!” miles long and was
as wide and as high
as it was long. . . .
The city itself was
made of pure gold.
Matthew 25:30. Revelation 22:5.
Throw him outside in There shall be no
the darkness; there more night, . . . The
he will cry and gnash Lord God will be
his teeth. their light, and they
will rule as kings
forever and ever.
Revelation 20:10. Revelation 21:3, 4.
And they will be God himself . . .
tormented day and will wipe away all
night forever and tears from their
ever. eyes. There will be
no more death, no
more grief or crying
or pain.
Let’s think about what kind of neighbors we
will have when we choose our home for eternity.
HELL HEAVEN
Matthew 25:41. John 14:1, 3.
Away to the eternal Jesus told them, . . .
fire which has been “I will come back and
prepared for the Devil take you to myself, so
and his angels! that you will be where
I am.”
Revelation 21:8. Hebrews 12:22, 23.
But cowards, traitors, You have come to…
perverts, murderers, the city of the living
the immoral, those God, the heavenly
who practice magic, Jerusalem, with its
those who worship thousands of angels.
idols, and all liars—the You have come to
place for them is the the joyful gathering of
lake burning with fire God’s first-born sons
and sulfur. …. You have come to
God…and to the spirits
of good people made
perfect.
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For You to Do
● Beside the Bible verses in Part 2,
write NO by every line that tells of
something that you don’t want in your
eternal home or that you don’t want
to experience. Write YES by whatever
you want.
PA R T 3
HOW IMPORTANT
IS YOUR CHOICE?
Don’t blame God for sending anyone to hell.
He wants to save everybody, but each person must
choose between heaven and hell.
Deuteronomy 30:19, 20. I am now
giving you the choice between life and
death, . . . Choose life. Love the Lord your
God, obey him and be faithful to him.
Whether you choose heaven or hell, others
will follow you there. Think of your family and
friends. Where do you want to lead them?
For You to Do
● Thank God for sending Jesus to save
you. Pray for any of your family or
friends who are on their way to hell.
Ask God to help you warn them and
lead them to the Savior.
PA R T 4
HOW CAN YOU GO
TO HEAVEN?
If you want to lead others to heaven, first be
certain that you, yourself, have taken these steps.
Then help your friends to take them.
Get off the Wrong Road
We have all been traveling the
road of SIN away from God and
toward hell. We turn away from our
sin, determined to obey God and go His way. We
ask His forgiveness for our disobedience. This is
repentance, the first step toward heaven.
We must acknowledge the wrong we have done
to others and do what we can to straighten it out.
We must forgive our enemies, ask forgiveness of
those we have wronged, and return what we have
stolen. As we confess all our sins to God, He will
forgive us and help us in whatever we have to do.
Memorize This
1 John 1:9. But if we confess
our sins to God, he will keep his
promise and do what is right: he
will forgive us our sins and purify
us from all our wrongdoing.
2 Peter 3:9. He is patient
with you, because he does not
want anyone to be destroyed,
but wants all to turn away from
their sins.
Recognize the Right Road
God has given you a road map, the Bible. It
says that Jesus Christ is the Way. Follow it.
Memorize This
John 14:6; 6:37. Jesus answered
him, “I am the way, the truth, and the
life; no one goes to the Father except
by me. I will never turn away anyone
who comes to me.”
Choose the Right Road
This means to accept Jesus Christ the Son of
God as your personal Savior and Lord of your life.
Believe that He accepts you too, and trust in Him.
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Memorize This
Acts 16:31. “Believe in the Lord
Jesus,” they said, “and you will
be saved.”
John 20:31. These have
been written in order that you
may believe that Jesus is the
Messiah, the Son of God, and
that through your faith in him
you may have life.
Follow the Right Road to the End
Follow Jesus the rest of your life. He will guide
and help you as you read the Bible and pray.
1 Peter 2:25. You were like sheep that
had lost their way, but now you have been
brought back to follow the Shepherd and
Keeper of your souls.
For You to Do
In this part of the lesson, going to heaven
has been described as taking a journey.
● Have you personally taken the steps
that will lead to heaven? ......................
If not, will you now? ..........................
● Find a friend or member of your family
and explain the steps of the journey to
him or her.
C ONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR
COMPLETION OF L ESSON 5.
Now answer the questions for
Lesson 5 in the Lesson Review
Questions at the end of this booklet.
After you complete and send in the
questions for all six lessons, we will
send you a beautiful certificate.
May God richly bless you!